??? About pumps

D

dieseldaisy

New member
I am trying to figure out a way to pump my saltwater from my basement to my 2 level floor where the tank is instead of carrying 20 gallons up each week? Is there such a way we are probably looking at 30+ feet up
 
30 feet is tough with a pump, that's a lot of head pressure. to make the run up you would need to get through the floors - do you have a path you can take? for a run like that you might find it best to get spaflex and push it through. put it in the oven at 175 fora 5 minutes (every oven is different - so use common sense) and it will be more pliable.

a pump like an iwaki 100 should move plently through a 1" - according to the RC head loss calculator an iwaki 70 RT-2 is perfect for filling buckets at 272 GPH at 30 feet. even at 3/4" it will do the job. the 100 will give you more water.

recommend you measure as best you can, find a route, and enter the info into the head loss calculator: http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/head-loss-calculator

the other challenge is turning the pump on - running a power wire up with the PVC and wiring a wall switch at the top to control the pump would probably be the easiest.
 
I use a Mag Drive 9.5 to pump saltwater up from the basement. I chose that because it's the same pump as my return and it's nice to have a spare return pump if it's ever needed. We cut a small hole in the closet floor close to the tank. My water station downstairs is below and maybe six feet over from the first floor tank, so that pump probably has around 12 to 15 feet of hose in which to move water upward. I mix saltwater in the basement and pump it to an empty Brute can upstairs. Once the water change is done, I pump the fresh saltwater into the tank with a Maxi-Jet 1200. Honestly, if I still had to carry water upstairs in buckets, I would have to get out of the hobby.
 
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I have two Iwaki 55 externals for sale. I used one for my basement sump and had a second for a backup. Check my for parting system thread
 
I started to feel the same way! If I don't figure out something soon I'm gonna go crazy, I like to do weekly water changes and it's getting tough to want to. Should have thought about putting it up in my bedroom,

EllieSuz said:
I use a Mag Drive 9.5 to pump saltwater up from the basement. I chose that because it's the same pump as my return and it's nice to have a spare return pump if it's ever needed. We cut a small hole in the closet floor close to the tank. My water station downstairs is below and maybe six feet over from the first floor tank, so that pump probably has around 12 to 15 feet of hose in which to move water upward. I mix saltwater in the basement and pump it to an empty Brute can upstairs. Once the water change is done, I pump the fresh saltwater into the tank with a Maxi-Jet 1200. Honestly, if I still had to carry water upstairs in buckets, I would have to get out of the hobby.
Click to expand...
 
Ok, so can someone explain or show pictures of your setup? So the pump is in the basement. I'm assuming you run an appropriate length of hose up through the floor and terminate it with a ball valve and a "U" shaped end?Has anyone figured out how to switch on the pump from the upstairs?
 
I also have my RO unit in the basement and run the efflux line upstairs and do my mixing there. There have been some really creative ways of concealing the mixing station. CardiffGiant had a bench seat that contained his top off and 2 part- you could easily do something like if you're only looking at 20 gallons. I use a plastic tub that is supposed to catch rainwater. It looks decorative (I hope). Just another option.
 
30 ft plus is very difficult. Even with 2 inch pipe to reduce friction head loss the Iwaki 100 RLT( max head 39 feet) , which has high psi realtive to other pumps will only deliver about half or a bit less of it's 2000gph rating that high. The samller models will deliver next to nothing or nothing . The 70RZ has a max head of 60 feet or so and could give yu 660 gph at 30 feet.
 
Welcome to my world :). I use an Iwaki 100 and 1.5" PVC to do the job. Luckily my house is bubble-frame so all my interior walls are open through the second floor to the attic. Current codes don't allow that, but in 1903, it was done a lot. Only the first floor is covered with subfloor, and that's accessible through the basement. When we remodeled the kitchen and had the walls off, I ran the 1.5" through the wall in behind the sink and down to the basement. I also ran a little thermostat wire up with it to a switch that I use to control a relay that drives the pump. Quick connect fitting like they use for small fire hoses and the pipe is at a 60 degree angle so it drains and a little spa flex to get out from behind the sink. Hook up the quick connect, flip the switch and you better have buckets ready :). When done, flip the switch to turn the pump off and let it drain back down into the basement.

Thinking about a gear pump with a similar manual relay setup for the topoff RO water. Don't need as much flow for that and gears do a great job with pushing high head.
 
SkiFletch said:
Welcome to my world :). I use an Iwaki 100 and 1.5" PVC to do the job. Luckily my house is bubble-frame so all my interior walls are open through the second floor to the attic. Current codes don't allow that, but in 1903, it was done a lot. Only the first floor is covered with subfloor, and that's accessible through the basement. When we remodeled the kitchen and had the walls off, I ran the 1.5" through the wall in behind the sink and down to the basement. I also ran a little thermostat wire up with it to a switch that I use to control a relay that drives the pump. Quick connect fitting like they use for small fire hoses and the pipe is at a 60 degree angle so it drains and a little spa flex to get out from behind the sink. Hook up the quick connect, flip the switch and you better have buckets ready :). When done, flip the switch to turn the pump off and let it drain back down into the basement.

Thinking about a gear pump with a similar manual relay setup for the topoff RO water. Don't need as much flow for that and gears do a great job with pushing high head.
Click to expand...

if you could share some pictures that would be cool. just to steal ideas from of course!!
 
I'm destroying my bathroom soon, and will have better pictures when I have the walls off there. For the fitting I use these couplings in polypropylene, non-locking

Female
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/325/=njogwy

Male
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/327/=njohkg

The fittings are where most of the magic is. For the relay I stuffed it all in an electrical box and used a 10A relay I had laying around. The control is just a spare wall-wort power supply I had laying around, soldered in-line with the switch and relay control.
 
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